Florian Siwicki

Florian Siwicki (10 January 1925-11 March 2013) was a General of the Polish People's Army who fought in World War II and the Invasion of Czechoslovakia. Siwicki was an NKVD operative during World War II, and he commanded the Polish forces sent to invade Czechoslovakia in 1968 before becoming a high-ranking political officer for the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR).

Biography
Florian Siwicki was born in Luck, Poland on 10 January 1925, and he joined the Marxist-Leninist Polish Workers' Party in 1942 before joining its armed resistance wing in 1943 during World War II. Siwicki worked as an NKVD operative behind German lines and participated in the Soviet offensives in the Eastern Front, commanding troops during the East Pomeranian Offensive and the Prague Offensive. After the war, he rose in the ranks of the Polish People's Army and the Polish United Workers' Party, becoming a political officer in the army. In 1960, he was promoted to brigadier, and he was military attache to China from 1959 to 1961 before serving in various command positions. In 1968, he led the 2nd Army during the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and he served as Chief of Staff from 1972 to 1983. In 1980, he became a full member of the PZPR politburo, and he was forced into retirement in 1990 for declaring martial law back in 1981. He died in 2013 at the age of 88.